Shloka 13

आवरणपूजावर्णनम् (Āvaraṇa-pūjā-varṇanam) — Description of Enclosure/Layered Worship

Devanagari script

यो वेदादौ स्वर इति समावाह्य महेश्वरम् । पूजयेत्पूर्वदिग्भागे कमले कर्णिकोपरि

Transliteration

yo vedādau svara iti samāvāhya maheśvaram | pūjayetpūrvadigbhāge kamale karṇikopari

Translation

വേദത്തിന്റെ ആരംഭത്തിൽ ‘സ്വര’ എന്ന പവിത്രനാദത്തോടെ മഹേശ്വരനെ ആവാഹനം ചെയ്യുന്നവൻ, കിഴക്കുദിക്കിലെ ഭാഗത്ത് താമരയുടെ കർണികയുടെ മീതെ (അവനെ) പൂജിക്കണം.

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-यत्-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun)

• वेद-आदौ: at the beginning of the Veda
• वेद-आदौ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययार्थे सप्तमी-प्रयोगः; अर्थः ‘आदौ/प्रारम्भे’ (locative sense)

• स्वरः: the syllable/voice (svara)
• स्वरः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/इत्यर्थक-निपात (quotative particle)

• समावाह्य: having invoked
• समावाह्य: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial to main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√वह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); अव्ययभाव; अर्थः ‘सम्यक् आहूय/आवाह्य’

• महेश्वरम्: Maheshvara (Śiva)
• महेश्वरम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• पूजयेत्: should worship
• पूजयेत्: Kriya (क्रिया/Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पूर्व-दिग्-भागे: in the eastern sector
• पूर्व-दिग्-भागे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + दिक् (प्रातिपदिक) + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दिग्भागः = दिशः भागः; पूर्व-विशेषण); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• कमले: in the lotus
• कमले: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कमल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• कर्णिका-उपरि: upon the pericarp
• कर्णिका-उपरि: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कर्णिका (प्रातिपदिक) + उपरि (अव्यय)
• Form: उपरि = अव्यय (preposition/adverb) ‘upon’; कर्णिका-शब्देन सह प्रयोगः (locative sense)

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating Shiva’s prescribed worship procedure to the sages)

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pati

Shiva Form: Mahādeva

Jyotirlinga Context

Significance: The verse frames Śiva-invocation as śabda-pradhāna (sound-led) and ādhāra-pradhāna (lotus-seat), aligning temple worship with inner visualization; this is treated as a means to receive Śiva’s anugraha.

Mantra Metadata

Mantra: स्वर इति

Shakti Dimension

Role: teaching

Ritual Elements

Offering: pushpa

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Maheshvara

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

The verse emphasizes that Shiva is approached through śabda (sacred sound) and proper inner invocation (āvāhana). Worship in the east and on the lotus symbolizes awakening, purity, and the rise of consciousness toward Pati (Shiva), aligning the devotee’s mind toward liberation.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

By prescribing invocation and a defined seat (lotus/pericarp), the verse supports Saguna-upāsanā—worship of Shiva with form and ritual order. Such āvāhana and pūjā commonly culminate in Linga worship, where the invoked presence is honored as the accessible embodiment of the Supreme.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

It suggests mantra-led āvāhana (invocation) followed by directional worship: facing/placing the deity in the eastern quarter and meditating on Shiva seated on a lotus-heart (karṇikā), then performing pūjā with focused mind.